KCPD suffers rupture with church pastors over public criticism of police shooting

In a further rupture between the Kansas City Police Department and local leaders, a KCPD community interaction officer lashed out in writing recently at church pastors who criticized a controversial police shooting.

In a June 22 email obtained by The Star, the officer wrote that he and others felt “ambushed” when the Rev. Darron Edwards, lead pastor of the United Believers Community Church, joined a group of pastors in speaking out about the March 25 fatal shooting of Malcolm Johnson.

Edwards had for months been a public ally of the police department, helping to launch a community-police relationship building initiative called Getting to the Heart of the Matter. But Edwards has said publicly that the Johnson shooting, parts of which were caught of video that seemed to contradict elements of the police version of events, caused him to lose confidence in KCPD leadership.

The split between Edwards and police officials appeared to widen with the June 22 email from Officer Lance Lenz, a community interaction officer assigned the North Patrol Division.

“When you and the other Pastors (publicly) labeled our fellow officers as ‘Executioners,’ prior to a comprehensive investigation, we were speechless, to say the least,” Lenz wrote.

“Try to understand the optics of the media actions you took,” he wrote. “Your media push to label 4 officers as Executioners appears to be an attempt to incite the community and apply political pressure to bias public perception about an ongoing investigation.”

‘We’ve just been polarized’

The email was part of an exchange shared with dozens of clergy, police officials, neighborhood leaders and elected officeholders including Mayor Quinton Lucas.

Lenz wrote that several faith leaders who he recruited into the initiative alerted him that they no longer would be a part of it because of Edwards and the others speaking out.

“They felt as though the ‘Faith alliance’ they joined was now a platform for activism, and they wished to remain in the realm of Faith leadership,” he wrote.

On Friday, Edwards said the group has been split since the pastors spoke out about the Malcolm Johnson shooting.

“We’ve just been polarized by KCPD,” he said.

“So it seems as if they want to disassociate from us but not disassociate with the program that we created,” Edwards said. “Just because we have spoken out against what we consider the egregious acts by KCPD, it should not dismantle the partnership that has been created.

“If it has, then what was it to begin with?”

Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police department spokesman, said nothing has changed about the department’s willingness to work with Edwards and other leaders.

“The KCPD continues to interact with Pastor Edwards and share information with him and dozens of other faith based groups in our city weekly.” Becchina wrote in a text message to The Star.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Edwards and other faith leaders helped launch Getting to the Heart of Matter in August, after a series of protests against police brutality and systemic racism took place at the Country Club Plaza and elsewhere.

During those demonstrations, civil rights groups and community leaders demanded police reforms and called for Police Chief Rick Smith to resign or be removed. They cited the number of unsolved homicides, increased street violence and how Smith has handled the police shootings of Black men and excessive use of force by officers.

In response, police officials said they have implemented a number of reforms and policy changes. Those include issuing body cameras for all uniformed officers, having outside law enforcement investigate police shootings, and requiring an officer to intervene if they see another officer use excessive force.

A group of clergy led by Edwards met with Smith and other police leaders to collaborate on efforts to reduce crime, improve communications, build cooperation and bridge the divide between community and law enforcement.

“I think relationships have growing pains and if this was just about backing the blue, then this is not what Getting to the Heart of the Matter is all about,” Edwards said Friday. “It is about bringing relevant information from police to the public.”

“As soon as we speak for the people, it seems like the whole relationship has changed,” he said.

City Council member Melissa Robinson said Smith recently told her their work with Getting to the Heart of the Matter is important to help them address the root causes of violence.

The police department should be receptive of criticism and not lash out at those seeking improvements, she said.

“I don’t necessarily know if police should be spending their time doing this,” Robinson said.

“Police have gone on record time and time again, saying that, the day that they stopped improving, is the day that they should no longer have a job. And if that’s the case, then we should be able to welcome those criticisms and try to find common ground.”

Malcolm Johnson shooting

Edwards said the police shooting of Johnson served as a flash point for him and the other clergy.

Johnson, 31, was fatally shot by an on-duty Kansas City police officer, who was shot in the leg, during an attempt to arrest Johnson inside a gas station. Edwards and others obtained videos of the events, which they said raised questions about the police version of events.

Surveillance video showed two uniformed officers entering the gas station — guns in hand — and confronting a man the ministers said was Johnson. Within seconds, the man appears to try to flee arrest as two cops take him to the ground of the gas station convenience store.

In a second video, which appeared to be filmed by one of the store clerks from behind the counter, a handful of uniformed officers attempt to subdue the man on the floor while he struggles to break free. One gunshot can be heard, followed by an exclamation and a short pause; then two shots are fired in quicker succession.

An officer can be seen hobbling around on one leg in the background as a man lay motionless on the floor.

The ministers have described the killing of Johnson as an “execution” and called for the officers who were involved in the arrest to be immediately fired.

Last week, the highway patrol forwarded their investigative file to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, which will decide whether to file charges.

‘Us versus them’

On Friday, Edwards said part of the disagreement stemmed from police leaders changing the name of a weekly email newsletter that is part of the Getting to the Heart of Matter campaign without consulting him and the other group organizers.

The email newsletter is now called KCPD Community Connections. It contains crime statistics, announcements, links and highlights of community events designed to enhance relationships between police and citizens.

Edwards said he wants to continue to work with the police department to improve conditions in the city’s urban core. But he also wants the ability to critical of the law enforcement when it is warranted.

“We still want to partner with the police and work towards reform,” Edwards said. “But if we are the most prevailing voices of the community to speak to KCPD, then there are no voices right now. And so they have developed what I consider an ‘us versus them’ mentality.”

This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.